AN: Yay! Update day! This chapter is back story. It's all about how Alex formed her pack, and the members of it. You can skip it if you want, but you will be confused later!

Chapter Five

Forming The Pack

See? I told you, the scars of the past never fully go away. Chase spent the next ten years helping me learn to live. He became my closest friend and ally, not to mention my beta. He was the first official member of my pack. Without him, I probably wouldn't have made it. The pain of losing Emmett never left, but it dulled. I could feel when he turned. It felt like the invisible thread that connected us had been cut. I still felt the pull of the imprint every now and then, but it was bearable. Like an echo. I fought the urge to seek him out, knowing that there was no future for us anymore. When I felt the need, I found a warm body to lay under, but I never did open myself up to love again. How could I?

I suppose you want me to get on with the story, huh? Well, I guess the next major point in my life was day I met Samson and Tyler…

1945

Samson & Ty

I hated street fairs. The last one I went to had been with Emmett, and ever since then, they reminded me of him. However, this was one of those events that Chase insisted I needed. Every few years I fell into a depression, and Chase would be there to pick me up and force me to deal with society for a while, if only to remind myself I was alive. This one was especially loud, thanks to the war ending. People necked and danced in the streets, singing the praises of America. As much as I hated to admit it, the mood was infectious. Although Chase had forced me to attend, he slipped out of sight as soon as he was sure I wouldn't run for the hills. He was a private man, and I respected his need to be alone every now and then.

A loud band in the center of all the commotion seemed to be drawing the most attention. I pushed through the crowd until I was on the edge of the dance floor, watching couples move this way and that.

"Pretty impressive, huh?" A male voice asked from my side.

Turning, I smiled at the boy. He must have been no older than seventeen, and gangly as anything. His features were soft, much like Alistair's. I instantly felt drawn to him. "I'll say." I followed his gaze to one particular girl who twirled with her friends before breaking out into laughter. "Your girlfriend?"

He snorted, a deep blush covering his cheeks. "I wish. Madeline likes guys like my cousin, Tyler. You know, tall, dark, handsome… If you like that kind of thing." His laughter was genuine, and I found myself laughing along. "My name is Samson Swan. It's a pleasure to meet you."

"Alexandria Sterling." I shook his hand quickly. Turning back to the dance floor, I spotted Madeline talking to a tall stranger. Instantly, I knew he was a wolf. "Is that your cousin?" I asked, my jaw tightening.

"Yeah, that's Ty." I nodded before moving towards him.

I was only half way across the dance floor when Tyler's eyes shot up to meet mine. A low growl came from the man. Great, he was territorial. Tapping the girl on the shoulder, I smiled. "I'm sorry to interrupt, but my friend over there would really love a dance with you." She looked towards Samson with a smile before excusing herself.

"You're on my territory." He wasted no time. His eyes were an angry deep blue under think black brows. Stubble lined his wide jaw and continued down his neck. He was in fact tall, dark, and handsome like Samson had said. He had a dangerous look to him, with a broad chest and an air of danger.

"I'm just passing through." Although I wanted to defuse the situation, my inner alpha refused to be talked to with such disrespect. "Where is your alpha, underling?"

He growled again, his whole form shaking. "I don't need an alpha!" he practically yelled. "So you and your pack can get the hell out of my town."

I watched his back as he stormed off, the crowd ignoring him as they clapped for the end of the song. Turning, I smiled as Samson ran up to me. "I owe you big time! I don't know what you said, but Madeline wants to have lunch!"

"All I did was point her in your direction. The rest was all you!" He smiled again.; it was so carefree. I wished I could be that innocent.

"Where did Ty go?" He asked and looked around. I frowned at the mention of the angry rogue. "Uh oh, you didn't fall for him too, did you?"

I scoffed and looked over my shoulder in the direction he had left. "He's not really my type."

I groaned as my back scraped against the bark of a tree. My fingers dug into Ty's bare shoulders as his lips moved down my collarbone. He entered me quick and hard, no remorse in his frantic thrusts. I tried to remember how we got here, but it was all a blur of anger and sex. He took me two more times on the forest floor before we angrily parted ways.

I spent the next year with Tyler, our little affair bringing us together in interesting ways. There was no love behind these encounters, but with each one, our anger dissipated a little more. When we parted ways after Samson and Madeline's wedding in 1946, I considered him a close friend. I extended the offer to join my pack, but he declined. He said that he had a little more independent traveling to do, but he looked forward to the day when he would join Chase and I.

1957

Nicolas

It wasn't until 1957 that I gathered my next pack member. I walked down the rain-drenched streets of New York, trying to block out the sounds of people ringing in the New Year. Chase, as always, remained impassive by my side. His ears were better than mine by far, so I knew the noise must have been bothering him. Still, he kept his dark eyes forward as we turned down another alley. We would be leaving the city in the morning and heading north for a while. I wanted to get out of the states, perhaps even overseas.

"Do you hear that?" Chase tilted his head the slightest bit, his eyes narrowing. Straining my ears, I could just make out the sound of a whimper. "Sounds like a wolf."

I frowned. I didn't know of any wolves that would dare phase in the middle of a city, even on a night where everyone was drunk. I let my feet carry me towards the sound, eventually building up to a run as the cries began to grow frantic. In the back of an alley, along the backside of a butcher's shop stood a small wolf. He wouldn't be small by human standards of course, but he was tiny compared to others. His large caramel head spun around towards us. His eyes were mismatched, blue on the left and honey on the right. He whimpered again, pressing himself into the wall. I looked around quickly, hoping no humans were in earshot.

Ordering Chase to phase and calm the wolf down, I kept my eyes and ears open for anyone passing. It took the better part of an hour to get the young wolf calm enough to phase back to his human form. I quickly handed him my coat as Chase redressed.

"Why the hell am I a – a werewolf?" The boy's lip trembled as he looked from Chase to me.

He seemed to be of Spanish-American decent, though I couldn't pin down his exact ethnicity. His curly hair sat on his head in a cloud of frantic frizz. "I'm not your parent, kid. Didn't they explain it to you?" There was nothing worse than an uninformed pup. They were dangerous at this age, and I didn't want anyone to get hurt.

"I'm a foster kid." He clutched my jacket around him. "Today was my eighteenth birthday, so I got the boot." I frowned and looked to Chase. He was uninformed and all alone.

"You can't be serious." Chase sighed, shaking his head when he realized what I was thinking. "He's a liability."

"He's alone…"

"He is standing right here." The boy cut in with a frown. "My name is Nicolas – or Nick if you prefer."

"My name is Alexandria, and this is my beta, Chase."

The sad look didn't leave his face as he looked between us again. "Are you going to help me?"

"Yeah… we're going to help you." I replied with a small smile as Chase pinched the bridge of his nose.

Nicolas turned out to be a natural. Within days he could phase on command and had good instincts His happy energy was different, but welcome. It kept him from getting angry enough to phase. On top of that he was fast… really fast. Watching him was like watching a light brown blur dart across the woods.

Chase tolerated him, but didn't really embrace him as part of the pack right away. It had been Chase and I for so long, I think he was having trouble with the change. Nicolas however didn't seem to notice or care. He tagged along with Chase every chance he got. I wasn't sure if the young wolf idolized my beta, or was in love with him. His mind was always such a flurry of activity, it was hard to pin down one thought.

We met with Ethan and Raven a few months later, staying just long enough to have dinner with them. Ethan took a liking to Nicolas, teaching him several battle tactics he had learned throughout the years. It was like he brought a new energy to the pack. I think that was when my pack really started to form.

1960

James and Matt

It was 1960 when I walked into a small pub outside of Ontario. We had heard the commotion from outside, of course, but a little bar fight had never scared me. Inside was chaos. There were people everywhere, blending into one giant swarm of activity. The pub was a known wolf bar, but it was clear that most of the people fighting were humans. I took a step back as a chair flew across the room, passing only inches from my face. Nicolas laughed loudly as his mismatched eyes jumped around the room. Chase gave me a pointed look that said he would rather be anywhere than here.

"Hold this!" A young guy smiled widely and thrust his beer into Nicolas's hands before literally throwing himself into the mob. He smelled of wolf, so he probably didn't really fear getting hurt.

"This is awesome!" Nicolas chuckled. "Here!" He handed the beer back to the man as he appeared.

"That's not his." I frowned and examined the boy's face. He was almost identical, so I couldn't blame Nicolas. He had the same brown hair, combed in a way that made it look like it naturally fell like that. His amber eyes, although much like the first man's were rounder and softer.

"Good eye!" The boy smiled widely. It was then that the first one appeared. Identical twin wolves. "Wolf or not, no one can usually tell us apart!"

"Hey, give me that!" The first boy shot his brother a look and snatched the beer out of his hands. "Thanks for that!" He smiled at Nicolas now. "I'm James, and this is my brother Matt." He gestured to his twin.

"I'm Nick! This is Chase and Alexandria."

James paused with the bottle half way to his lips, his brother wearing an identical shocked look. "You're Alexandria Sterling…"

"You've heard of me?" I rose an eyebrow and folded my arms over my chest. It was rarely good when another wolf had heard of you.

"Are you kidding!?" It was Matt that laughed. "Everyone has heard of you! There are rumors that you're putting together an elite pack – stronger than any other."

My eyebrows felt like they shot into my hairline. "You shouldn't believe everything you hear."

"We believe this." James finished his beer, placing it on a nearby table. Around us, the fighting continued. "You're Chase Marks, right?" He looked to Chase, who didn't answer. "You were the beta of the ridge-back pack. They say you were the only one to survive and kill ten leeches. You're supposed to have like – super ears, even for our kind."

Chase didn't respond, but his jaw clenched. "And you-" Matt continued, pointing towards Nick. "You're Nicolas Stone. Didn't know you were a wolf, figured it all out in two fucking days, and can run so fast, you make leeches look like they're crawling. They're calling you 'The Shadow'."

Nicolas looked proud of himself as the twins turned their matching gazes to me. "We can't forget our alpha with the heart of gold-" James began.

"Makes a lasting impression wherever she goes, with the eyesight of ten wolves." Matt finished, their faces pulled into identical grins. "Which is how you were able to tell us apart."

"You have to let us join your pack!" James practically jumped. "I mean, we were in Russia when we first heard about you. We came all the way here with the intention of tracking you down."

I blinked as I processed everything he had just said. Russia? Did other wolves seriously think I was building some kind of super-pack? I mean, sure, my pack-mates were good, but were they really that impressive? I guess I didn't notice because I was around it all the time. Although I knew my eye sight was better than most, I would hardly say I had the sight of ten wolves.

"I'm not looking to add to my pack." To my left, Chase hummed in agreement.

"Oh come on!" James moved in front of me, his brother hanging back with hopeful eyes. "We're identical, even in wolf form. Because we're twins, we have this crazy bond. We always know where the other one is. We don't have to think it or plan it, we work together like one person."

It felt like a sales pitch. I really wasn't trying to build an elite pack, so I didn't care about their abilities. "They seem nice." Nicolas gave me a weary smile, not wanting to step out of place.

With a sigh, I knew I couldn't refuse them. They seemed nice enough, and super-pack or not, their ability would come in handy in a life or death situation. "Fine."

Witnessing the twins work together was just as amazing as James had said it was. They were truly identical, down to the placement of their spots. Their minds were silent as they moved. They were fluid, exactly like they said they were. After the twins joined me, the rumors only grew. I had overheard a few lone wolves talking about it when we made our way back to the States. With their abilities, my 'elite-pack' was all but confirmed.

It was a few years later that the rumor caused Ty to seek me out again. Even though I denied it, he finally agreed to join me. With a growing pack, it was easy to feel overwhelmed at times, but there was also a sense of family. I got to know each of them, inside and out. I trusted them with my life and knew they felt the same. For the first time since losing Emmett, I didn't feel so alone.

1990

Lilly

In 1990, Lilly was the last to join my pack, and the one that really solidified the fact that yes, I had unintentionally formed a pack of elite wolves. She wasn't overly strong or smart, but she was young. Lilly had phased for the first time at eight years old. It was the youngest phase anyone had ever heard of. Her mother had been beta of their family pack, and made Lilly stop phasing until her fifteenth birthday. When her mother passed away, Lilly's father – the alpha of her pack – began to get abusive. Finding Lilly is one memory I refuse to visit… It's too horrible. The way he took advantage of the fragile little blonde with bright blue eyes was enough to make anyone sick.

Matt and James and not given him a chance for redemption. I typically was against killing our own kind, but they did so with my blessing. Lilly was frail and terrified when I asked her to join my pack, but agreed to do so at the promise of protection. Over the next few years, she came out of her shell a bit, but we could all see the flashes of memory that plague her daily. It made the twins want to kill the bastard all over again.

And that was how my pack formed… How my family formed. I would protect them with my life.

AN: As always, reviews are loved!